Fireside Prophets, a trio of reggae rockers out of South Florida, showcase a distinctively brash sound on their latest album, Ignite. The SoFlo band builds captivating medleys with their back-and-forth exchanges of uptempo rock riffs, funky bass lines, slick rhyming and underlying reggae rhythms.
The October 2015 LP plays out a bit like a week of Spring Break in the Sunshine State, with energetic songs about girls, partying, taking in the sun and hanging by the beach. Ignite was recorded at Vanquish Studio in Fort Lauderdale, and produced by Ian Mercel.
Fireside Prophets came to fruition in 2008 after Justin D’Alfonso (Vocals/Guitar/Keyboard/Ukelele), Oren Gross (Bass/Piano/Guitar/Strings), and Travis Schmeider (Drums) met at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The Boca based band are now regulars at the beach side bars and venues along Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
The three musicians essentially threw each of their musical tastes in a hat, mixed them around with some Florida sunshine, and out popped Fireside Prophets. D’Alfonso grew up on grunge gods Nirvana and Pearl Jam as well as guitar geniuses Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, but Schmeider later schooled him on his hip hop favorites like 2Pac and Biggie. At heart, Fireside is a reggae rock group, but don’t be surprised if they slip Rage Against The Machine’s classic “Killing In The Name” into one of their live performances (which they did recently at Miami’s iconic punk rock joint, Churchill’s Pub).
Florida receives an abundance of year-round sunshine and is in no shortage of picturesque beaches, yet the reggae scene is relatively small compared to fellow ocean-side states California and Hawaii. But D’Alfonso is encouraged by the slow growth in the Florida reggae community, and by the emergence of young talented acts like Spred The Dub, Hor!zen, Hours Eastly, and SOWFLO. He also expressed his hope for the reggae roots bands in the Sunshine State to work together in an effort to continue building up a stronger reggae community within the state.
Anyone interested in checking out their music can find Fireside Prophets on Spotify and iTunes, as well as the band’s own social media sites. Prior to Ignite, Fireside Prophets also released a 2012 EP titled Resinate.
In support of the new album, they also recently posted two new videos, “Nice Guy” and “Hey Darlin”, the former you can view below.
Related links:
Fireside Prophets Website
Fireside Prophets Facebook
Article By: Brian Winters
Watch: Fireside Prophets – “Nice Guy”
